Archive for November 2010
Constructive Playthings sent me two Todays Gir’s Dolls and a super cool Horse With Western Saddle and Outfit to check out and giveaway to a lucky reader just in time for the holidays. As you can see the horse was a hit with my son. The dolls… not so much but that has more to do with my son than the dolls.
What we loved :
The horse who has been named ” Giddy-O” is amazingly sturdy, he flies down cliffs ( the stairs) over and over as my cowboy rescues him and he looks as good as new. What I liked about the dolls was the diversity of ethnicities, I know this is pretty standard but the subtleties of the differences is what got me. With only a few dolls to choose from I really feel like most girls could get a doll that reflected themselves without having to get a costly custom doll. I also liked that the dolls come with 3 outfits , you aren’t forced to spend more when times are tough enough.
What we didn’t like:
They aren’t terribly cuddly. I don’t think they are meant to be but as a girl I slept with ALL my dolls , my son sleeps with his one and only doll and these are too hard to even try. I am sure this won’t bug most kids who are looking to dress them up and play pretend but for snugglers like us it was a bummer.
Want one? I am giving one Todays Girl Doll away ! But that’s not all , I am also giving away a Horse With Western Saddle & Outfit too.
How to Enter:
Visit Constructive Playthings and tell me which Today’s Girl you like.
Extra entries:
Follow @ConstructiveMom on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway.
That’s it !
This contest is open to American residents . The winner will be chosen by random.org on December 6th at 9pm PST. I was provided with the toys in return for the review, opinions are all mine ( and my son’s). I was not compensated with payment for this post.
For this activity you will need a paper plate, clothes pins, brown and yellow construction paper, scissor, glue, and something to color with. For some reason I had craft confusion and used paint and markers, but that’s overkill.
First, make your paper plate brown–we finger painted because that allows us to work on sensory stuff at the same time. I’m seeing major progress in that my son will paint and also that he’s stopped trying to put the paint in his mouth. Little victories! 
Next, cut out a head and beak from the construction paper. Glue them to the plate.
Then you need to color your clothespins. I used markers and did it myself since it’s a little beyond Charlie’s abilities. If your child can do it by themselves, then let them.
Now, for the fun part!
The clothespins become the turkey’s feathers. Use the feathers to do a variety of activities. For us, we were working on identifying colors. You could also do patterns
Since this was our first time doing the activity, we started with only two clothes pins and asked Charlie to select “red” or “blue.” Trying to grab the clothespins has the added bonus of being fine motor practice, but if he’s not able to squeeze properly, they still come off with a tug. If your child has trouble with fine motor, be sure to place the pins far apart to make it easier. 
When Charlie correctly identified the blue pin and threw it on the floor, we called it a day!
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Katy is a mom of one who loves art, mystery novels, and anything involving peanut butter–she blogs about raising her little miracle at Bird on the Street.
Letter of The Week will return after the holidays but for now holiday kids crafts, homemade gifts and books will be filling your screen! This is not an original idea as long as I have worked with kids I have made and played with these. I am actually making these for my son’s preschool but plan on making one for my daughter’s stocking, they are great toys for babies.
- Gather your materials. You will need empty water bottles with their lids, hot glue gun, glitter, oil, water, food coloring and shampoo( karo syrup or hair gel is much cheaper… I just had a ton of this shampoo on hand). You may also want a funnel.
- Start by removing the labels from the bottles.
- Next add the contents
We started with the green bottle with shampoo , glitter and green food coloring. When this one is done the glitter will slowly move through the shampoo ( or hair gel or karo syrup). We used a funnel to fill it and my son watched it slowly fill pretending it was a soft serve ice cream machine. 
- The next bottle was the yellow bubble bottle with yellow food coloring, glitter , one squirt of shampoo and filled halfway with water . When it’s done the children can make bubbles by shaking it.
- The next was the blue glitter bottle – water and glitter. When it’s done the glitter will swirl through the water.
- The final one was half oil , red food coloring, water and red glitter. This one has always been my favorite, the water and oil will resist mixing and children can make gentle waves without much effort as well.
- Hot glue the lid on, do not let even older kids do this. I have been using hot glue guns for oh 25 years and I burned myself with every bottle! I added colored tape to the outside as well. Let sit a few hours before playing with it, and test it over the sink before passing it to a child.
Remember that even with careful gluing these things break . I had an oil and sparkles one break in my kitchen when my son was a baby. The lid broke in two! Lesson is to stick to playing with them in places that are easy to clean and always supervise children with these, always!
This week has been a happy busy blur. I need to catch up on some fantastic posts and know you have them. Link up and share you best post of the week, and read the very best of the week from others too. Enjoy!
Nothing gets me in the Christmas spirit like snuggling up with my kids and reading Christmas books. I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet but if you are hoping to find these books at your local library you need to get them now! No time to read this week? You aren’t the only one. I collaborated on an article with Stacie Billis at The Family Kitchen all about ways to keep your kids busy while you are preparing for the holidays.
Christmas in the Barn
Happy Christmas, Gemma
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story
My Penguin Osbert
How Santa Got His Job
Bear Stays Up for Christmas
